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A Richmond eye surgeon has brought a new type of corneal transplant to the region Date published: 8/6/2010
BY JIM HALL An eye surgeon has performed the region's first partial corneal transplant. Dr. Garth Stevens did the operation yesterday afternoon at the Fredericksburg Ambulatory Surgery Center. The outpatient procedure lasted about 30 minutes and appears to have been successful. "The surgery went very well," Stevens said. "We'll know for sure how successful in about two months." The patient declined to be identified, so Stevens said he could not talk specifically about the patient or yesterday's procedure. In general, he said, the operation is less invasive and involves fewer complications than a full corneal transplant. Typically, surgeons have replaced defective corneas with donated ones from those who have died, Stevens said. However, recovery from full-replacement surgery often takes one to two years, he said. "During that time people can see, but their vision is blurry until it really settles down," he said. In recent years, surgeons have opted for a less-invasive procedure, called DSAEK. During this procedure, the surgeon replaces only a portion of the cornea and holds the replacement in place with an air bubble and fewer stitches. As a result, recovery is quicker. "People have pretty complete recovery in about two months," he said. Stevens said he's done a variation of yesterday's procedure in Richmond since 2001. He estimates that he's done the operation about 1,000 times. The cornea is the clear part at the front of the eye, "just like the glass on your watch," he said. Vision can suffer when it gets cloudy, usually from disease, infection, injury or complications from cataract surgery. Stevens and his colleagues see patients at the Mary Washington Eye Care Center in Massaponax. Their main practice is the Eye Care Center of Virginia in Richmond. Jim Hall: 540/374-5433
Dr. Stevens and his associates Dr. Dang and Dr. Bowman.
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